I just saw you on the TODAY SHOW and you were fantastic!! I've had the book for only a couple of days and there you were on my TV! I've already made the baked ziti and my kids actually like it BETTER than my usual one. I think it's the tomato sauce with the richer flavor.

My kids will be eating healthier from this day forward. Thankk you so much for making our lives healthier AND easier--I didn't have to be so pushy when I know they're already getting their veggies.

when is your next appearance on TV? are you going to have your own show?

DO YOU HAVE A CALORIE BREAK DOWNS FOR ANY OF THE RECIPES. I AM ON JENNY CRAIG AND LOST 25 LBS. AND I WANT TO START MY MAINTENANCE PLAN AND WOULD LOVE TO INCORPORATE THE RECIPES.
GREAT JOB I AM SPREADING THE NEWS ABOUT THE BOOK AND I ONLY HAVE IT 1 DAY
CORIE

As for calories, sorry to say I don't have that, but most have been reviewed and fall within the guidelines of the American Heart Assn for fat/sugar. Most have half the fat and sugar or traditional recipes. And they are all packed with fiber from the whole grains, beans, veggies, and fruit, which helps in any weight loss effort because it keeps you feeling fuller and prevents overeating.

Keep up the great work....it's worth the effort!
Missy

BY THE WAY MY HUSBAND WHO NEVER HAD A HEALTHY THING IN HIS LIFE LIKES THE COOKIES AND THE PB AND J MUFFINS. HE ACTUALLY TOOK THEM FOR HIMSELF, NOT FROM ME WITH A SALES PITCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THANKS AGAIN GREAT JOB !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
CORIE

You're too kind! And you so supportive of everything healthy for kids. You have my vote for kids' champion of the year!

And you are definitely in the right profession--your students are lucky to have you.

All the best,

Missy

They tasted great, but the larger ones fell apart when I cooked them on a stovetop grill pan. (I made 4 oz burgers for grown ups and 2 oz ones for kids, but my son ate 2 of the small ones!)

I tried the brownies. To be honest, I liked them well enough to eat, but not enough to want to binge. I guess that is good. The kids have not had dessert yet. I told my daughter she can't have dessert because she didn't eat the raw carrots I gave them on the side, but I just realized now that I guess that defeats the whole purpose of ending dinnertime battles. Should I just tell her she doesn't have to eat the carrots? She is 4 and at all but a bite or 2 of the 2 oz burger.

Sorry for the long question!! Thanks for this book!!

Stacy

Thanks for your kind thoughts. It's really a benefit to kids everywhere as more and more parents become aware of how easy it is to sneak healthy foods into kids' favorite meals.

Check out the New York Times piece at:

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/19/nyregion/19seinfeld.html?_r=1&ref=nyregion&oref=slogin

and the New York Daily News piece at:

http://www.nydailynews.com/gossip/2007/10/19/2007-10-19_jessica_seinfelds_recipes_stir_up_plagia.html

All the best,

Missy

I have had your book for several months now and have made nearly every recipe. The food is fabulous and your ideas are genius! My kids devour the food and the whole family is feeling the difference.

My mother called me when the Oprah show aired and wanted to know if I had the same book because she hears me boast of the fantastic recipes that I use from your book all the time. She said it sounded like the same book, different author. I haven't looked at the other book and don't think I need to do so. It is disappointing what celebrity status can afford these days.

Thank you for inspiring moms and others concerned with good health. I have found your ideas valuable and have adopted them into recipes that my family has loved for years. We can't seem to keep enough good vegetables and wheat germ in the house! I'm going right over to amazon.com to leave a long overdue rave review!
Best wishes,
Stephanie

Keep your head held high and keep smiling!

Shelleen

Regarding the strawberries, it’s definitely a good idea to thaw frozen items prior to pureeing as it’s easier on the blades. Berries thaw quickly, especially if you place the bag in a little warm water. The lemon juice will help them retain all of their appetizing color.

All the best,
Missy

For casein intolerance, try almond or rice milks. Soy milk is suspect for lots of reasons.

Hope this helps!
Missy

Sorry for the delay in answering your question. We just posted the new website, as you may have noticed, and the blog functionality is still being perfected.

The answer to your question is to add the milled flax seed in place of some other dry ingredient like wheat germ or oat bran. Otherwise the proportions will be off.

I'm glad you're thinking so healthily : )

Keep up the good work!

Missy

Thank you so much for the words of encouragement : )

I can't tell how much it means to me to be reaching people like you–no, especially people like you–who have knowledge about nutrition and who are in a position to influence others. It makes my whole life's work worthwhile.

I hope you've seen my work with Columbia Presb. Hospital posted on my website's blog page. My work with them continues to be a major source of inspiration. We're also working with schools in various cities to incorporate Sneaky Chef recipes into their menus.

A recommendation coming from someone with your credentials goes a long way in helping to spread the Sneaky word. People need this information more than ever.

With healthiest regards!

Missy

There are actually scores of vegetarian versions already contained in both the kids' book and the men's book. There will also be many more in book 3, due out next April. If the success of the Sneaky Chef books continues like it is, I will definitely consider making a whole book of vegetarian sneaky recipes as I am partial to vegetarian myself!

Keep up the great eating habits : )

With healthiest regards,

Missy

You're not alone–many people prefer to have their veggies "hidden" within the meal they're eating, rather than having to eat them straight up. Personally, I do both, as I feel that the more the better.

But I understand that many people just don't like them straight up, and there are so many benefits to increasing the quantity of veggies hidden in a dish, including caloric reduction and nutrient enhancement. So, however you like them, keep it up : )

With healthiest regards,

Missy

It's great that you're diving into this : )

Your butter question is an interesting one. I personally prefer butter because it's less processed, but there are cholesterol and other factors to consider, too.

Regarding the avos, slice them in half the long way and leave the pit in the half you don't use. Then place a few drops of fresh lemon juice on it, cover and refrigerate for not more than a day or two.

Enjoy! I can't wait to hear from you when you've reached your goals : )

Missy

Thanks so much for the great feedback (pardon the pun : )

The grab n' go granola bars have been a big hit with men and boys in particular since they're loaded with oats, which are renowned for their high energy (secret: farmers feed them to draft horses when they're going to work them all day ; )

The nutritional info that I have so far is on the free recipes page of the website. I'm adding more all the time, so stay tuned. I'll make the grab n' go granola bars a priority with my nutritional folks.

Keep up the great work!

Missy

Use a 9x9 pan and they will be thicker. You've probably discovered this by now : )

Keep up the great work!

Missy

The "methods" contained in chapter 5 of my first book says exactly how to sneak (see excerpt below). I can already see that there's a lot of information that needs to go into this answer, but I want you and all of my readers to be as best equipped as possible out there!

The basic principles of hiding foods are:

1. Similar colors and textures work well.
2. The healthy ingredient has to either enhance the overall original taste or add no taste of its own.
3. Sneak means don’t taint. You can’t affect the look or texture of the final product any more than the taste.
4. The added ingredient has to be good for you!

Whatever the product, it must meet three criteria: One, it has to have no real taste of its own. Two, it cannot leave too much of a gritty, leafy, or unusual feel or an off-taste in the mouth that will make it distinguishable from the main dish. (As we will see later, there are ways to deal with these effects if they do appear.) Kids are hyper-alert to any differences in their usual foods. In my lab test kitchen, I have also made sure that when these sneaky items are used, there are very few residual flecks of green and no lumpy, grainy, coarse, or harsh texture.

When I tested these products over a period of five years, they had to pass a rigorous test of being bland in taste and virtually invisible in texture. Not only do kids seem to have an unnaturally strong sensitivity to these changes, but they are not in the least bit diplomatic about pointing out their objections. If the words aren’t derisive enough, they usually make a face.

So bland-tasting foods are always chosen over highly pungent ones. No matter how nutritious something is, it will not work if it changes the taste and texture in an obvious way. It was a sad day when I realized I had to reject beets and asparagus because they have strong tastes that cannot be masked. Happily, I found that seemingly smelly cauliflower, which is very nutritious, was one of the easiest foods to hide when pureed.

The third criterion is that the added ingredient must be similar in color to the main dish. For instance, if you want to hide something in macaroni and cheese, you wouldn’t use pureed spinach because it would turn the yellow cheese a sickly color and would impart a “ funny” (definitely a kid word) taste. Ideally, the additive will not appreciably change the color of the main dish because that would be an obvious tip-off to kids that you’ve been sneaky. You have to either match the color of the dish or add a color that doesn’t change it.

In the above example, you could easily introduce White Bean puree into the mac and cheese because it virtually disappears. For a red pasta sauce, you could stir in pureed orange vegetables.

Drastic changes of color do work if the new color is . . . well . . .pretty. For instance, I have added Spinach Juice to color frozen vanilla yogurt a bright green shake for St. Patrick’s Day or Earth Day. I have also, as I mentioned earlier, mixed blueberries into ice cream or frozen yogurt for a delicious bright purple shake.

The experiments were conducted by me to take the guesswork out of it for you. So you can be sure that all of the recipes in this book produce acceptable color changes. I have steered clear of any modifications that incite the “ Ick!” factor.

If you decide to experiment yourself, it is best to use preschool color-mixing guidelines, which dictate that hues that are opposite each other on the color chart will not combine well. For instance, red plus green equals brown. If you try adding spinach puree to spaghetti sauce, you will end up with a sauce the shade of an old shoe. This only works for pizza if you cleverly hide all of the sauce with cheese. You can add carrots though, because orange doesn’t detract from the red. In addition, they cut the acidity of the tomato sauce. Spinach does work well in meat dishes and brownies, though, because brown isn’t affected by green.

I hope this information helps you, and all of my readers!

With healthiest regards,

Missy Chase Lapine
The Sneaky Chef

You certainly have my permission to host a "learn how to cook healthy" night at your son's grade school. You can use whatever recipes you like. Please just acknowledge them as being from The Sneaky Chef.

You can also host a puree party with friends. It's easy. You've inspired me to put this into action and I'm going to post the fun and easy instructions on my website soon! It will be called: “How to Host a Sneaky Chef Puree Party” and will appear in the "Free Recipes" pages of the website.

Thanks for the inspiration :)

With healthiest regards,

Missy Chase Lapine
The Sneaky Chef

I Don’t know if Ace is using the book, but he liked it and allowed a photo with it!  As for losing weight, my recipes are lower fat, calories and sugar, but you need to keep track of quantities as always. So eat my nutritionally enhanced foods, but stop when you are no longer hungry (instead of “full”) – it’s all about quantities.  Eat about half of the amount you think you want, is my rule of thumb.

Enjoy!

Missy
 

For any of you having issues with the granola bars not holding together, try the simple fix I've posted on the Free Recipes pages of the site at:

http://www.thesneakychef.com/free_recipe_granola_bar.php

Enjoy!

Missy

My husband always tries to exercise as much as he can and also watches portion control. These are basics to weight maintenance and loss. I would recommend them to anyone who is interested in losing weight, in addition to making recipes as healthy as they can be using the Sneaky Chef method.

Carry on with the great work you're doing!

All the best,

Missy

As for nutritionals, go to my website and on the Free Recipes, the
nutritionals are at the bottom. We're adding more and more every week,
so check often www.TheSneakyChef.com

And please look at my new book:
http://www.amazon.com/Sneaky-Chef-Kitchen-Hiding-Healthy/dp/0762433205/r
ef=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198336967&sr=1-1
You'll find over 125 more sneaky recipes!!

All my best,
Missy

I love the fact that you are using my recipes almost every day. That makes me feel great : )

There certainly is some nutritional value lost from any kind of processing or storage that we do to any kind of fresh food, and I feel that eating most veggies in their fresh, raw state is superior to cooking or processing them in any way. The Sneaky Chef is a solution for parents of kids (or wives of husbands) who won't eat them fresh and raw.

Kids and men today are often consuming huge percentages of their diets as factory processed foods. It might be OK if these were occasional items, but what we're seeing is a huge portion of the population consuming them as daily staples, leaving very little, if any, really nutritional foods in their diets–and this during a critical phase of their development. The Sneaky Chef brings some real nutrition back to even these processed store bought foods.

Your question about cooking and freezing I feel refers to the affect that heat and oxidation have on the vitamins and other sensitive nutrients contained in the veggies. As we've said, fresh and raw is often best, but cooked still has plenty of nutrition in it, as we all know. But factory processed is absolutely the worst.

Interestingly, the availability of some nutrients is actually enhanced by cooking as it breaks down the tough cell walls protecting the nutrients inside, which would otherwise be unavailable to our bodies for absorption. Here's an interesting study on the subject:

(http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/163937.html)

(PARMA, Italy, Dec. 24 Researchers in Italy report that cooking vegetables can preserve or even boost their nutritional value in comparison to their raw counterparts.)

Again, I feel fresh and raw is best but only if you can get them to eat them that way. Otherwise, sneak 'em in! There's still plenty of nutrition in steamed and pureed broccoli, cauliflower, cooked beans, etc. Compare that to what you get in non-sneakily enhanced boxed processed foods.

Keep up the good work : )

Missy

Give it whirl in your 12 muffin tin. You should reduce the cooking time since they will dry out more quickly due to the smaller size. Check on them regularly with a dry tooth pick to see if they're done (nothing should stick to the toothpick when you pull it out).

They should rise about right if you divide the dough equally.

You're doing great :)

With healthiest regards,

Missy

Thanks!

Mark Salinas
Healthy Living Today

As for Juicy Juice, I’m guessing it has high fructose corn syrup and/or other sugars. And there’s nothing like FRESH for the nutrients… Processed juice can’t replace that.

For the homemade bread, absolutely use my Flour Blend in place of the 5 ½ cups recommended here.

Finally, for your brother-in-law, do you know about my newest book? See it here:
http://www.amazon.com/Sneaky-Chef-Kitchen-Hiding-Healthy/dp/0762433205/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1198336967&sr=1-1

all my best,
Missy

Here's an interesting article on osteoporosis, with some more good ideas:
http://www.webmd.com/osteoporosis/living-with-osteoporosis-7/diet-dangers

My best,
Missy

I know I need to find a way to sneak them into my diet, and would be willing to try purees, but I wouldn't know what to buy or what to do with what I bought.

I wonder, are there pre-made purees that I could buy at the store?

Thanks for any input!

You can look in the book for my list of foods that combine well to enhance the absorption of iron. It's not just about sources of iron, but about absorbing iron. I can also tell you that millet is an excellent source. Here is a partial list of foods that enhance the absorption of iron:

Meat + tomatoes
Blueberries + spinach
Tomato sauce + beans
Potatoes + white beans
Spinach + tomatoes

Enjoy in good health : )

Missy Chase Lapine
The Sneaky Chef

You're not the first one to discover this. You've really got to go with fresh spinach, as frozen just won't work, and fresh baby spinach is best. You can find nice containers in most supermarket produce sections.

I don't know if you have access to Costco in your neck of the woods, but they have a great container of fresh baby spinach, prewashed, and you can't beat the price. I know that frozen is more convenient, sorry about that.

Keep up the good work!

With healthiest regards,

Missy Chase Lapine
The Sneaky Chef

Also, I think that a large part of the success of the baked goods depends on the kids smelling that fabulous "baking cookies" smell. Thanks, Missy, for inspiring me to bake!

We have managed to modify many to cope with the gluten free diet, however there are some that are proving more difficult. Can you please suggest some seed and/or nut mixes we can add to gluten free flour that will not significantly alter the taste but will improve the nutritional value. Also, what can we use instead of rolled oats? I have tried to get hold of Eva's suggestions (above) but we live in Hong Kong and they do not seem to be available. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks
Jodie

You've truly got a tough one here. Here's an idea--how about seeing if he'll go for a smoothie made out of the things he'll eat now, like bananas and/or strawberries/and or grapes with a milk base. If he'll go for that, we can use it to sneak some purees into.

For example, if he'll eat red or purple grapes, you could sneak some purple puree into it (see my website for free purple puree recipe). If he'll go for a white smoothie, banana/milk for example, you could sneak either white puree or white bean puree into it (again, free on my website). And if he goes for strawberry, you could sneak some orange puree into it.

Whatever you do, start out slowly.

Good luck, and be sure to let me know how it works.

With healthiest regards,

Missy Chase Lapine
The Sneaky Chef

Hi Kricket,


So glad your family is enjoying my recipes! Thanks for taking time to write.

Great news....I have a new Sneaky Chef book coming out in April 2009 with holiday recipes! Here's a preview - please let me know how it turns out (not yet published).



PUMPKIN SPICE MUFFINS OR DONUTS

Makes 6 muffins or 12 donuts


1 ¼ cups Flour Blend (see Make-Ahead Recipe on this website)

2 teaspoons baking powder

One-half teaspoon salt

2 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or equal parts cinnamon, ground ginger, and nutmeg)

2 large eggs

3 tablespoons walnut, canola or vegetable oil

6 tablespoons Orange Puree (see Make-Ahead Recipe on this website)

½ cup pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

One-half cup brown sugar, packed

Optional decorations: white or orange colored frosting with orange and black sprinkles or Halloween candies



Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a mini-bundt (or donut) pan with oil. If you choose the cupcake option, line a muffin tin with paper liners.



In a large bowl, whisk together the Flour Blend, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.

In another large bowl, whisk together the egg, oil, Orange Puree, pumpkin puree, vanilla, and brown sugar until well combined.

Fold the wet ingredients into the dry and mix until the flour is just moistened. Don't over mix. Pour into dounut molds or fill muffin cups almost to the top. Spray tops of donuts or muffins with oil before baking.



For donuts: Bake 14 to 16 minutes until the tops spring back when pressed lightly. Loosen the edges with a knife and turn the donuts out over a plate. Allow to cool, and then decorate as desired

.

For muffins: Bake 22 to 24 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Turn the muffins out of the tins to cool. Dust tops with powdered sugar or decorate as desired.





My Best,

Missy

I recall that you wrote to me previously in August–I'm glad things are going so well : )

The Kid's book differs from the men's book in the types of recipes that I chose to include. You'll find things like mac n' cheese, chicken tenders, breakfast cookies, etc., that were specifically designed to be kid friendly. I also use "13 methods of disguise" that are tailored towards helping to disguise healthy foods when a child is looking at them and reacting to them, rather than towards what would help disguise them in men's foods, where spices are more often used. The children's recipes also use spices that are much, much milder in general.

I imagine that Amazon.com and Barnes&Noble.com ship to Australia, and they carry both books if you can't find anything in your local library or at bookseller downunder.

Good luck, and keep up the great work : )

With healthiest regards,

Missy

It’s my pleasure to help with your science project. You seem to be an A++ student and I am very impressed with your hard work!! So here are the answers to your excellent questions:

How do you get the vegetables in them?

I like to blend or “puree” vegetables (after I steam them a little) and then they are creamy and smooth and I can mix them into sauces and batters. It helps to hide them if they smooth, not chunky – that way kids can’t see them in the food.

How do you hide the taste of the vegetables?

I choose really healthy vegetables that don’t have a lot of taste on their own. They are “bland” in flavor. Surprisingly, even raw baby spinach is mild and bland in flavor (not like canned or frozen spinach…yuck!) It also helps to cover up the taste of the veggies by using a “decoy” yummy taste like chocolate (in the brownies) or cheese (in the pizza) or tomato sauce (in pasta sauce).

How do you pick vegetables that will taste good in treats?

I try to pick fruits and veggies that will make the treats taste naturally sweeter and even better. Like blueberries in my chocolate brownies—they make the brownies taste sweeter (and you definitely never taste the spinach). I like to bake treats with carrots and sweet potatoes (or “yams”) because these vegetables are naturally really sweet and when you mix them with peanut butter or banana or into a cake you can’t taste them at all, but somehow the treat taste sweeter (and you can use less sugar).

How healthy is the brownies and cookies as the brownies and cookies without vegetables?"

In my opinion, you can have treats in “moderation” – that means not too much or too often! I try not to forbid any “junk” food in my house, because if I do, my daughters will just eat more junk at friends’ houses! But using Sneaky Chef methods, you can see I’m making treats taste just like yummy desserts, but with better-for-you ingredients. Like the brownies – almost all of the ingredients are healthy (although I wouldn’t recommend skipping lunch and just eating the brownies!) They have whole grains, blueberries, and even spinach, so they are pretty healthy as far as brownies go! And I was able to use less sugar and butter (the “not-so-good” stuff) and put more good stuff into them, so they are way healthier than normal brownies and cookies. Most brownies and cookies at the bakery have more than double the amount of butter and sugar!

GREAT JOB EMMA!! PLEASE SEND PHOTOS!
MISSSY

No problem cooking the zucchini : ) It will puree very easily once cooked. It will steam more quickly than the cauliflower so you might want to add it a little bit after you start the cauliflower.

Keep up the great work : )

Missy

Thanks for taking the time to write. I'm honored that you would like to
include my recipes in your cookbook for our heroes. Please let me know
what you need, images, etc. I've attached the book cover and my logo in
case that helps.

My best,
Missy

Missy Chase Lapine
THE SNEAKY CHEF(r)

It's amazing how every child seems to have such a definite game plan when it comes to meals.....and so often, it's not OUR game plan!

First, the positive: your son seems to be hooked on nutritious food! That's great. I assume he eats other food besides veggies; are there textural preferences there, as well? I think I'd cook up whatever pleases him the Sneaky-Chef way (chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, etc. with the sneaky purees). If you keep expanding his repertoire, exposing him to different textures, I'm sure he'll start pushing away those bottles of baby food.....and be on YOUR game plan!

With healthiest regards,

Missy

Sounds like you hit the wall!  I've got some ideas to help you over it:

First, when do you LIKE to think of menus for your family? Perhaps part of the problem of putting together a lunch for Dominic is the time you do it--too early in the morning? too late the night before? Maybe there's a better time to think creatively, harness the ingredients, and prepare some things ahead of time.

On the flip side, maybe you're putting too much effort into this, and you just can't sustain such a creative streak! If you're  an overachiever by nature, and burning out, I'd suggest you limit yourself : "I'll make 3 different sandwiches each week (which repeat from week to week), chicken sticks on Monday, and pizza for Friday." Similarly, you could have 3 or 4 different options for desserts and veggies and fruits. He should do fine with this, and you can incorporate "inspirational" lunches when the inspiration hits, without having the pressure to be inspirational on a daily basis.

The final piece of advice is to enjoy the fruit of others' labor: my third book is coming out soon, with all sorts of fun lunchbox ideas. There are also websites devoted to just this subject! 

With healthiest regards,

Missy

===============

Liza

Cooking

I can only imagine how difficult it must be for you to handle all that you have going on, and I am grateful that I could be of help in easing the situation. When I first created The Sneaky Chef, I had no idea of the extent to which it could help so many people, and it's stories like yours that make it all worthwhile. To say that you are an inspiration would be an understatement.

Hang in there, and keep up the wonderful service that you are so lovingly providing.

With warmest regards,

Missy

Thanks for all the great recipes. I'm enjoying trying to make them all! My 2 yr old loves everything so far although for some strange reason didn't like the ice cream (crazy kid huh?!).

I just got the 2nd book and made the blueberry muffins. I was wondering if I read the recipe incorrectly. They still came out fabulous but when I put 1/4 cup in each muffin tin I had a lot of batter leftover and made about 10 instead of 6. Should I have used 1/2 cup and the extra large muffin tins or should I have filled them higher in the tins? They did not rise much above the height I filled them to, so I may have been able to put more in each.

Thanks and keep creating these great recipes,
Stephanie

I always like to overfill muffin tins just a little bit when I make them. They'll overflow just enough onto the top of the muffin tin to give each muffin a nice thick rim that everyone loves to pull off and eat first. If you bake it just long enough, it will have a slightly crispy edge and a soft and chewy inside. Muffins rule ; )

Enjoy on good health!

Missy

For example, I have seen purple carrots and purple cauliflower. Can we say purple puree? Imagine make brownies and not only have spinach and blueberries in them, but also carrots and cauliflower hidden as well!!!

I've also seen white carrots which you could also add to the white puree.

Keep an eye out for different color veggies because you can add even more nutrition to the already nutritous foods from the sneaky chef!!

Also when I make myself soup, I add all the purees to them (except for the purple puree). It changes how it looks but not how it tastes. I freeze the purees in ice cube trays and use about 2 cubes per puree.

Thanks Missy for helping our family so much!!!

I just bought your books while doing research for a business I'm trying to open up. I am looking at opening an indoor playpark for toddlers since where I live there are very few options for children's play during bad weather (which is about 60% of the year where I live).

I feel bad though that parents will leave my establishment and take their toddlers to the McD's next door for breakfast/lunch options for their children. I am trying to look into offering a menu of healthier items and FELL IN LOVE with your books and ideas.

I see that you offer "Sneaky Chef" premade items at Whole Foods but the nearest store to me is over an hour away. I was wondering if you have yet come up with larger batch quantity recipes and how one might go about securing the ability to use your recipes for retail sales.

I know it opens up a sticky area and like I said I'm just starting research but I know that what you offer in your cookbooks is a blessing to the children in this world who are bodies are starving for whole ingredients and healthy options!!!

Thanks in advance for any tips or assistance!

CoreyAnn :)

Tweaked brownies-

wet ingredients-
5 T. butter
3 T. (heaping) country crock calcium spread
1 c. semi-sweet choc. chips
3 eggs
1/2 c. purple puree*
3 t. pure vanilla extract, or 4 of double strength imitation
1/2 c. brown sugar packed
1/2 c. honey
***********************************
dry ingredients-
3T. each:
wheat germ
whole wheat pastry flour
unbleached white flour
flaxseed meal
1/2 c. nuts of choice+...
1/4 c. rolled oats blended or processed in food processor
2 T. unsweetened dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. dry milk
pinch baking soda and baking powder
1 t. all natural seasalt ( I use Realsalt ancient seasalt-loaded with micro minerals)
(9x 13 pan)-
*****************
* 1 1/2 c. blueberries
+ 3 c choice of one:
swiss chard (center rib and stem removed, ripped)
or baby spinach leaves

I just wanted to say that I love your recipes and books. Every Sunday morning I plan my meals for the week because it is easier for me to know what I have to make from day to day because I work full time as a teacher. My son is not to picky of an eater, but knowing that he is getting all the nutrition he needs through your recipes makes me feel better knowing he is eating right. To date though, his favorite seems to be the Lunch Box Mac and Cheese muffins - all three of his favorites in one package - eggs, cheeses, and noodles! He ate three for lunch on Friday! Thank you for your great recipes!

Good luck with your lawsuit - I always thought it had merit but that Jerry Seinfeld just had too much money and influence for you to prevail. Even if you don't win, congratulate yourself on your achievements with your cookbooks.

I feel like you could become like the man who invented the intermittent windshield wiper blade and his idea was stolen by the big automakers of Detroit. He was so consumed with getting credit for his idea that it ruined his life. At the end of the day, you will always know that you were first. Your body of work supports your claims.